I thought it was hard to break, but I've never seen a monster like this, a 16-year veteran director

May 18, 2025

I thought it was hard to break, but I've never seen a monster like this, a 16-year veteran director
SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Hanwha won 1-0. Ponce, the winning pitcher who set a record of 18 strikeouts, is being congratulated by manager Kim Kyung-moon. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/



It is the first time that a 16-year veteran coach has been with such a foreign pitcher. Cody Ponce's great day together.

Hanwha Eagles Ponce became the winning pitcher with two hits, 18 strikeouts, and one walk in eight innings in Game 1 of the doubleheader against SSG Landers at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th.

As many as 18K. While catching 24 outcounts from the 1st to the 8th inning, 18 of them were strikeouts. Even with two outs in the eighth inning, he was 'no hit' and after striking out 18, he had two hits and ended the inning without losing a run.




This is a new record for the most strikeouts in a KBO game in nine innings. The previous record was 17 strikeouts set by Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha) against the Cheongju LG Twins on May 11, 2010, and Ponce exceeded this record in eight innings.

Of course, he also broke the record of most strikeouts by a foreign player in a single game. The previous record was 14. Drew Anderson (SSG) and six others, which Ponce increased to 18. In addition, all of the starting batters recorded strikeouts.

I thought it was hard to break, but I've never seen a monster like this, a 16-year veteran director
Coach Yang Sang-moon celebrates Ponce, who set a new record of 18 strikeouts exceeding Ryu Hyun-jin's 17K by throwing until the eighth inning at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/
Ponce, who usually said he was a big fan of Ryu Hyun-jin, said he wanted to break Ryu's strikeout record playing in the same team now, but it became a reality much faster than expected. Ryu Hyun-jin, who congratulated him with his hands full, said "Congratulations. There is something to celebrate with open arms,' he said, rejoicing together.




Hanwha coach Kim Kyung-moon, who is in his 16th year as a professional team coach, also gave Ponce a glowing review. Coach Kim, who met ahead of the SSG match on the 18th, laughed "I thought it was a difficult record to break, but the record was broken in front of my eyes (great) "First of all, I said a lot of congratulations." In addition, (Kim) Seo-hyun blocked the difficult game well, leading to the team's victory. Thanks to the losing streak, I can play more comfortably today."

I thought it was hard to break, but I've never seen a monster like this, a 16-year veteran director
The SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Ryu Hyun-jin celebrates Ponce, who set a new record of 18 strikeouts exceeding Ryu Hyun-jin's 17K by throwing until the 8th inning. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/
Manager Kim, who has been the head coach of Doosan Bears and NC Dinos for a long time, has not had much luck as a foreign pitcher. Looking back on the past time, head coach Kim Kyung-moon also said "There were a lot of foreign hitters (good players), but not many players are very memorable on the pitcher's side."

In fact, Doosan had legendary foreign pitcher Dustin Nippert, who spent a very short time together because Nippert's first season in Korea was the same season when manager Kim left the team in the middle.




I thought it was hard to break, but I've never seen a monster like this, a 16-year veteran director
SSG-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Hanwha won 1-0. Ponce, the winning pitcher who set a record of 18 strikeouts, greets fans. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025..May 17/
Hanwha, which has the league's top foreign one-two punch with Ponce and Ryan Weiss two players. Coach Kim Kyung-moon warned that not only Hanwha but also foreign players from other teams are performing frighteningly this season.

Manager Kim Kyung-moon said, `If each team meets foreign pitchers now, the batting average will inevitably go down. I don't think there are many points against foreign pitchers right now"Acknowledging the higher average level.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.